Knife splashing

Chapter 386: Clouds Cover the Divine Mountain

"Is everyone here?"

"Wang Er, have you forgotten the rules for entering the mountains? Where are the red cloth and grains? Go find them quickly..."

"Why are you crying? It will only take two days at most!"

Early in the morning, Zhou Lizheng was shouting outside the yard.

At this moment, he had changed into a hunting suit made of coarse linen and animal fur. Although it looked tattered, it was an excellent concealment.

He was carrying a bow on his back, a knife on his waist, and ropes and other tools. He looked like an experienced hunter.

Unlike other places, in Longtan Village, a remote place, military strength is more important if you want to be a village head. Village Head Zhou is the most powerful hunter in recent years.

He originally planned to bring only two people, but what happened yesterday made him change his mind and directly organize a small team.

If this problem is not resolved, the entire Longtan Village will have to be relocated.

The temporary addition of manpower naturally caused a panic, and almost all the hunters in Longtan Village who often went into the mountains were called out.

In the small courtyard, Wang Daoxuan and others were also preparing.

Although they had prepared their luggage and packed all kinds of magical instruments and daily necessities, they still needed to prepare a lot if they wanted to enter Shennongjia.

As for Li Yan, he sat on the steps and looked at the jade sceptre with dragon pattern.

"Brother Yan, do you see anything strange?"

Upon seeing this, Sharifei hurried forward to ask.

Li Yan stroked the dragon-shaped jade gui and frowned, saying, "This object has the energy of the earth veins, but it is as stable as Mount Tai and difficult to draw out. Judging from its shape, it is still before the Shang and Zhou dynasties. Judging from the color, it is not an object from the tomb, but has been soaked in water for many years..."

Sharifei's eyes lit up, "Could it be from the Dragon Palace and Water Palace?"

Wang Daoxuan laughed when he heard this. "The Jiao has a physical form, but the Dragon can be big or small, hidden and invisible to ordinary people, so why would it need a water palace?"

"Did the dragon girl have other intentions when she gave the jade to me?"

Li Yan shook his head and said, "I'm not sure. The Dragon Girl is imprisoned, and the divine control method cannot communicate, and the dream is also vague."

"Brother Lu San, how are you doing?"

Lu San said in a muffled voice: "I walked around the lake this morning. The animals here don't know about it. They are all ordinary creatures and can't sense the existence of the dragon girl."

Li Yan shook his head helplessly and put the jade sceptre away. "Let's go first. If we find Taoist Yun on the way, we may be able to find out the reason."

After some preparation, everyone finally set off.

All the people of Longtan Village came out to see them off. Men, women, young and old all had solemn expressions. Although Zhou Lizheng did not say anything, some things that happened last night had been passed on by word of mouth and known to everyone.

Plus Zhou Lizheng suddenly summoned all hunters.

Everyone knew something must have happened...

"Go back and do what you need to do!"

Zhou Lizheng waved his hands impatiently. He looked careless, but in fact he was trying to calm people's hearts. He remained calm before leaving and winked at a few old men.

This time he went into the mountains, it was also an adventure.

Some things have been explained. If I can't get out this time, the village elders will make the decision and I will prepare to leave my hometown.

In addition to Li Yan's group, Zhou Lizheng also brought a dozen hunters, all of whom were experts who often went into the mountains.

Under everyone's worried gaze, the group quickly left, headed toward the back mountain, and disappeared into the thick fog...

…………

"We're here. It's the cave in front."

Not long after entering the back mountain, Zhou Lizheng pointed forward.

Li Yan looked up and saw a high mountain blocking the way ahead. At the end of the rugged mountain road, there was a cave. It looked like a karst cave, but the entrance had obvious marks of knife and axe cutting. It was very old and covered with moss.

Gong Qian said, "Young Master Li, this is it."

"Many years ago, I was ordered to disguise myself and sneak into the mountain village. The inspection in Zhushan, Yunyang was very strict, so I thought of entering from Shennongjia, and that's how I found this place."

Wang Daoxuan became interested and stepped forward to observe the traces carefully, stroking his beard and saying, "It is indeed quite old. Maybe it was really opened by the ancestors of Chu."

Sharifei laughed and said, "The ancient Chu ancestors were really good at finding the way. Why did they open a mountain path in such a remote place?"

Wang Daoxuan shook his head and said, "The ancient Chu ancestors worked hard. From King Wu Ding of Shang to King Cheng of Zhou, they attacked Chu many times. I guess they also wanted to find a way out in Shennongjia."

"The Taoist priest is indeed knowledgeable."

Zhou Lizheng, the leader, quickly flattered the leader, "Our ancestors didn't know who built this mountain road. It was only when the Medicine Saint entered the mountain from here and found the ancient Chu ruins on the opposite side that we were sure of it."

"Hey, isn't settling in Shennongjia asking for trouble?"

Li Yan seemed to be thinking about something, and asked, "This Shennongjia is indeed extraordinary. Has Zhou Lizheng heard of any strange things?"

"That's a lot."

Zhou Lizheng said in a deep voice: "It's just right. Before entering the mountain, there are some taboos that I want to explain to you clearly."

"Shennongjia is often surrounded by clouds and mist, making it very easy to get lost. There are also all kinds of strange beasts, which are very dangerous."

“There are several species that have been handed down from generation to generation in the village alone.”

"There is a kind of wolf called a donkey-headed wolf. We call it a 'donkey-headed bastard'. It is huge in size and has a head like a donkey. It often comes out of the mountains to cause trouble. There was a village nearby, and children and women were eaten by them..."

"It's also best not to get close to the lakes and pools in Shennongjia. I've seen a giant toad with grayish-white skin like a dead person, and it can spray water..."

"The old folks have heard that there are also coffin beasts and mountain yellow beasts, each one more ferocious than the other, but unfortunately we have never seen them."

As he spoke, he glanced at Wu Ba carefully and said, "Besides that, the most terrifying thing is the wild men. I heard that many years ago, they came out of Shennongjia in groups and kidnapped women."

"Fuck your mother!"

Wu Ba opened his mouth wide and grinned foolishly.

Zhou Lizheng: “…”

Sharifei quickly changed the subject, "Brother Zhou, don't blame me. This silly boy only knows this one sentence. What are the taboos for us when we enter the mountains?"

Zhou Lizheng replied: "It's similar to other places."

"First, don't make loud noises. When you enter the mountains, don't call the wild animals by their names. When you kill prey, don't say it's dead. Say it's asleep..."

"Second, do not talk about dreams in the morning, do not talk about killing at noon, and do not talk about ghosts and gods in the evening. If you find something, you should first offer it to the mountain god..."

"Third, you must not run around or stray from the hunting trail. Be careful not to get lost or step on traps set by previous hunters..."

While Zhou Li was explaining here, the hunters in the village were holding a ceremony to enter the mountain. They rolled the soil into an altar, burned incense and candles, and killed a chicken, sprinkling the chicken's blood at the entrance of the cave.

Not only that, they each tore off a red cloth strip from their bodies and tied it to an old tree nearby.

The trees are covered with dense red ribbons, but some of them are very old and have faded due to wind, sun and rain.

Zhou Lizheng then explained: "This is a ceremony for entering the mountain. First, it is to offer sacrifices to the mountain god and inform him that we are going to enter the mountain. Second, it is to tie a red rope so that even if something happens in the mountain, the soul can return home. Everyone..."

"The rules must be followed."

Li Yan didn't waste any words, took a red cloth bag and tied it to the tree.

Wang Daoxuan and others followed suit, without showing any impatience.

Although they are sorcerers, they don't have unnecessary arrogance. There must be a reason why local customs and taboos have been passed down for thousands of years.

Even if it is just a ritual, if it is not followed, the hunters who follow into the mountains will inevitably have doubts in their hearts, which may lead to hidden dangers.

Seeing them like this, Zhou Lizheng also breathed a sigh of relief. After burning incense and kowtowing, he took out a small suona from his arms and started playing it.

The sound of this suona is not high-pitched, but rather dark and eerie. It makes a humming sound when playing, like crying and complaining.

Sha Lifei felt a little creepy, and just as he was about to speak, Wang Daoxuan interrupted him with a wave of his hand, and whispered: "This is the sound of the Ju River, the remnant of the ancient Chu Dynasty, played by the Chu people to worship their ancestor Zhurong, don't disturb..."

When everyone heard this, they immediately stood aside obediently.

The wind whistled, the clouds and mist swirled, and the sound of ancient Chu floated in the air. Looking at the mottled stone walls of the cave, Li Yan seemed to feel the difficulties that the ancient Chu ancestors had to overcome in the wilderness...

After the ceremony, everyone immediately entered the cave.

The cave was dark and deep. They walked forward with torches and could faintly hear the sound of water dripping. Not long after they walked, they found out the reason. It turned out that this was a karst cave with complex roads and many forks. The ancient Chu ancestors only needed to dig through the stone wall to get through the mountain range.

There were still extinguished torches stuck in some of the stalactites, and a lot of lime was swept in the areas leading to other caves.

Seeing Li Yan's confusion, Zhou Lizheng explained, "Old people say that there is a strange insect in the cave, called the brittle snake, which can be up to a hundred meters long. When it touches a person, it will scatter and turn into many insects to swarm over. It is extremely poisonous, so lime is spread all year round to block it."

Li Yan pinched his fingers and took a deep breath. His face was calm and he didn't say much.

I didn't smell any strange smell in the cave, so I didn't bother to pay attention to it.

They didn't encounter any danger along the way. In less than three incense sticks, they left the cave and arrived at the other side of the mountain.

All I saw before me were mountains upon mountains, shrouded in clouds and mist, and countless huge trees towering up, blocking out the sky and the sun, with no end in sight in the distance.

The mountain wind was howling, as if there was an invisible pair of hands pushing the clouds and mist forward, but the sun was never seen.

“Is this Shennongjia?”

Seeing this, Sharifei couldn't help swallowing.

Just standing here, he felt inexplicably chilled.

Li Yan also had a solemn expression.

He had also been to Shennongjia in his previous life, but the scene now was nowhere near what he saw. Moreover, it was filled with a lingering evil aura, which was no less than that of a blessed place, but it was scattered and formless, without any spiritual orifice.

No wonder it became one of the forbidden places in China.

"Let's go, everyone, be careful."

Zhou Lizheng greeted them and took the lead.

Li Yan remained calm and followed behind him.

Compared with the hunters' experience, he trusted his own magical powers more, and if anything happened, he could deal with it immediately.

Of course, Lu San is the real reason for them to enter the mountain!

Lu San was seen pinching the magic formula and listening attentively as he walked.

In the dense fog and forest, unknown wild animals occasionally howled, and birds flew through the mottled trees.

To ordinary people, these sounds only intensified the terrifying atmosphere of Shennongjia, but to Lu San, they sounded like animals in the forest chatting.

This information is extremely confusing, and Lu San has to carefully distinguish it.

In front, Zhou Lizheng was walking and explaining, "Shennongjia is not small. Hunters from our Longtan Village only dare to follow a few hunting trails that have been around since ancient times. No one dares to go deeper."

"No one who leaves the hunting trail has ever come out alive. Taoist Master Yun often goes into the mountains with us to collect herbs. We should be able to find clues on these hunting trails."

Gong Qun, who was standing by, asked in a deep voice, "Brother Zhou, you also know why I came here this time, do you have any clues?"

"of course."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Lizheng quickly took out a leather map from his arms and said, "Although we dare not go deep, sometimes when the weather turns good, we can still see some large lakes when standing in the special area of ​​the hunting trail."

"I have marked them all, but we will have to wait and see whether those places exist..."

To be honest, when Gong Xun said they were here to look for the dragon, Zhou Li didn't believe it at all, but after what happened last night, he didn't dare to be careless.

"Ah."

Gong Xun took the map and handed it to Li Yan.

Li Yan picked it up and examined it carefully. The map was very rough and was hand-drawn by a hunter, but it gave a rough idea of ​​the nearby terrain.

He took out the map of Ezhou from his arms, compared the two, and frowned slightly.

The map Zhou Lizheng gave only showed a small part. Even if one wanted to search the area bordering Shennongjia and Baokang County, one had to go deeper along those lakes.

The news of their arrival has been leaked. There must be masters from the Tiansheng Sect and the Gui Sect lurking in Shennongjia.

This job is really not easy...

Li Yan shook his head slightly and carefully put the map away.

Shennongjia was shrouded in clouds and mist everywhere. They only knew vaguely that they were traveling between two high mountains based on the direction of the mountain path.

"Village head, look!"

Soon, the hunters in Longtan Village made a discovery.

There were several deep footprints on a muddy ground covered with fallen leaves, and the surrounding thorn bushes were broken with small pieces of cloth hanging on them.

Zhou Lizheng picked up the rags and said solemnly, "It's Taoist priest Yun's robe. He must have run into some danger. Look for footprints nearby."

At the command, the hunters scattered.

"here has!"

On a nearby hillside, a hunter made a discovery.

When everyone stepped forward to take a look, they saw several sets of footprints on the ground, each as thick as a bowl. It seemed that they were looking down at Taoist Yun from the hillside.

Sharifei said, "Wow, it's so big, it can't be a bear, right?"

"no!"

Zhou Lizheng's face was solemn: "The bear's footprints are similar to human feet, with claw marks on the front. Bears are clumsy, so the footprints are messy."

"These footprints are in the shape of a five-clawed plum blossom, symmetrical and neat, and so big... They are most likely from a donkey-headed scoundrel!"

Li Yan was slightly stunned, "Didn't they say it's rare?"

“It is rare.”

Zhou Lizheng looked into the distance and gritted his teeth and said, "The mountains have their own rules. Wild beasts usually don't cross the border at will. The donkey-headed bastard has never approached our hunting trail."

"Unless something happened over there and they were driven here!"

Sharifi swallowed, "They?"

Zhou Lizheng's face also looked a little bitter. "The footprints vary in size. There are at least four or five of them. Taoist Yun is afraid that..."

"Look for it first and then talk about it."

Li Yan interrupted him, took the cloth, took a deep breath, and then pointed to the front right, "It went over there."

"go!"

Everyone continued to move forward in the direction of the broken branch.

Before leaving, Li Yan looked back again.

Being driven away by something...

Could it be the trapped dragon they are looking for?

It hadn't rained in the mountains for several days and the smell had not dissipated yet, so Li Yan's magical powers could still work and he led everyone to track it down.

Soon, they left the hunting trail.

The hunters in Longtan Village were a little afraid, but they knew that Li Yan and his men all possessed special skills, so they had no choice but to follow closely.

After passing through a dense forest, a steep cliff suddenly appeared in front of us. Below was cloud and fog, and the sound of flowing water could be heard faintly.

“It came down from here.”

Li Yan led everyone around a corner and came to a bush. Looking down, they saw winding vines and branches, as green as jade, which seemed to form a ladder to heaven, leading directly downwards.

Wang Daoxuan was surprised and said, "This place is a bit strange. Could it be the wooden ladder of Shennongjia?"

"How can it be!"

Sharifei shook his head and said, "Even if it is a spiritual wood, it can't withstand thousands of years of wind, frost, rain and snow. How can it leave any traces?"

"It's really possible!"

A hint of surprise flashed across Li Yan's eyes. He stepped forward and pulled aside the vines, revealing a man-made hole...

(End of this chapter)